Study Says Overweight Dad's Sperm may Pass on Obesity to Offspring

Share

A new study has said that unhealthy diet of overweight fathers may cause certain changes in sperms. The latter may lead to metabolic disorders in their children and make them more vulnerable to obesity.

Study Says Overweight Dad's Sperm may Pass on Obesity to Offspring

Advertisement

Researchers from University of Adelaide, Australia conducted the study on mice and found that the rodents brought up on poor diet have offsprings that are inclined towards insulin resistance.

Advertisement

The findings suggested that epigenetic changes are prevalent in certain regions of sperm cells.

Delving further into the details, the team including Maria Ohlsson Teague and Michelle Lane, monitored mouse sperm for tiny bits of genetic material that switch off protein production.

They identified 21 of these microRNAs that were expressed differently in the sperm of mice fed on a high fat diet compared with those on a healthy diet, New Scientist reported.

A database of known microRNAs was used to envisage the outcome of the altered markers. The top biological networks, which had greater chances of being affected, were linked with embryo and sperm development, and metabolic disorders.

Teague asserted that large quantities of fat around the testes of obese mice 'could alter the environment and encourage epigenetic changes'.

She also said that in future, it might be feasible to screen sperm during IVF or block unwanted epigenetic changes with drug therapy.

Your comments are automatically posted once they are submitted. All comments are however constantly reviewed for spam and irrelevant material (such as product or personal advertisements, email addresses, telephone numbers and website address). Such insertions do not conform to our policy and 'Terms of Use' and are either deleted or edited and republished.Please keep your comments brief and relevant.This section may also have questions seeking help. If you have the information you are welcome to respond, but please ensure that the information so provided is genuine and not misleading.

Disclaimer - All information and content on this site are for information and educational purposes only. The information should not be used for either diagnosis or treatment or both for any health related problem or disease. Always seek the advice of a qualified physician for medical diagnosis and treatment.Full Disclaimer